Chinese ambassador urges Indian youth to build bridge of people-to-people, cultural exchanges between China, India

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong has urged Indian youth to build a bridge of people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and India.

Indian and Chinese national flags flutter side by side at the Raisina hills in New Delhi, India, in this Sept 16, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

Speaking at a recent China-India youth webinar, the Chinese ambassador said friendly cooperation is the mainstream of bilateral relations in the long history of China-India exchanges.

"The exchange between China and India is like an age-old, heavy book worth reading for a lifetime," he said. "The exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and Indian civilizations have made important contributions to the development of the two civilizations and the world at large."

The ambassador noted that China and India, as two ancient civilizations, should respect and learn from each other, treat each other as equals, and seek common ground while reserving differences.

"There are no two identical civilizations in the world. We should respect the diversity of the world and treat each other's differences in a mature and rational manner," he said. "We need mutual respect and appreciation, be open and inclusive, so that we can trust each other and live in harmony."

Sun stressed that as two rising major neighbors, China and India should abandon the old mindset of drawing lines by ideology, and get rid of the old game of "One's gain is another's loss" and "zero-sum game".

"As two neighbors and emerging major countries with a population of over 1 billion respectively, the growth of China-India relations will not only benefit our two countries and peoples, but also add stability and positive energy to peace and prosperity of the region and the world at large," he said.

The Chinese envoy said since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and India 70 years ago, bilateral relations have withstood tests and become more resilient, and it should not be disturbed by one thing at a time.

Describing the "unfortunate incident happened in the border areas" as "a brief moment from the perspective of history," he said bilateral relations should continue to move forward instead of backward.

"We need to see that friendly cooperation between China and India is the mainstream and the general trend," he said. "Only by seeing this can we maintain objective and rational judgment and correctly handle the differences between the two sides."

The ambassador reiterated that China's basic foreign policy towards India remains unchanged.

"China sees India as a partner instead of a rival, and an opportunity instead of a threat," he said. "We hope to put the boundary question at an appropriate place in bilateral relations, properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, and push bilateral relations back on track at an early date."

Sun stressed that people-to-people and cultural exchanges between China and India need to be inherited and carried forward from generation to generation.

Sun expressed his hope that Indian youth will strengthen communication, make good use of the exchange platform for learning various languages, and cooperate with Chinese colleges and universities to further enhance the understanding of China and India, build a bridge between the two peoples, and contribute to the healthy development of bilateral relations.